Use a screen reader to schedule a meeting in Outlook 2016

In Outlook 2016, you can schedule meetings with other people, make the meetings recur, set reminders for meetings, and request responses from the people that you invite. And you can accomplish all of this with only keyboard shortcuts and your screen reader.

Note: This topic assumes that JAWS users have turned off the Virtual Ribbon Menu feature.

Schedule a meeting and invite people to it

To create a meeting invitation from anywhere in Outlook 2016 Outlook (such as Email, Calendar, or Tasks), press Ctrl+Shift+Q. Focus moves to the To box in the invitation, you hear “To, Edit.”

To invite people to the meeting, type the person's name and, if you know it, email address.

Outlook automatically searches your address book for matches, and you'll hear the names and addresses that it suggests. (In Narrator, you hear each letter that you type.)

To confirm email addresses, you can use the Check Names dialog box to search.

To open the Check Names dialog box, press Alt+K. You hear, "Check Names dialog." Focus moves to the first name of the search results and you hear the first name aloud. Use the Up or Down Arrow keys to move through the list, and press Enter to select a name and address.

To browse the suggested names, use the Down Arrow. to select a name, press Enter.

Press the Tab key to move to the Subject box and type the subject of the meeting.

Press the Tab key again to move to the Location box, then type the location.

Tips: If you’re using a Microsoft Exchange account, you can use the Select Rooms: All Rooms dialog box to check the availability of and reserve rooms.

To move to the Rooms… button while the focus is in the Location box, press the Tab key once or press Alt+M. You hear “Rooms… button.”

To open the Select Rooms dialog box, press Enter. Focus moves to the Search box, you hear “Select Rooms: All Rooms, Search, Edit.”

To find an available room from the list of rooms, move to the list (press the Tab key). You hear the name of the selected room, along with details like the room’s availability and phone number.

To move between and select rooms, use the Down Arrow and Up Arrow keys. To reserve a selected room for your meeting, press Enter.

After you press Enter, press Enter again to return focus to the invitation. You hear the subject of the meeting and “Rooms… button.”

To specify the duration of the meeting , press the Tab key to go to the Start time box. By default, this box includes the day and date that the meeting invitation was created. You hear “Start date.” You also hear the day and date that the meeting invitation was created.

Depending on the meeting length, use one of the following three methods:

If the meeting lasts all day, type the day and date of the meeting. Press the Tab key four times. You hear “All day event check box, Not checked.” To select the check box, press Spacebar. You hear “Checked.”

If the meeting lasts less than a full day, type the day and date of the meeting and press Enter. You hear “Start time,” and the time that the invitation was created.

Type the starting time of the meeting. To skip the end date option (which, by default, is the same as the start date of the meeting), press the Tab key twice. You hear “End time,” and the date the meeting was created.

To send the meeting invitation, press Alt+S. The focus moves to the currently active window.

Make it a recurring meeting

In the meeting invitation, press Alt+H, E to move to the Meeting tab and open the Appointment Recurrence dialog box, or press Ctrl+G). You hear “Start, Edit.” You also hear the start time of the meeting.

To move the focus to the Recurrence Pattern group box in the Appointment Recurrence dialog box, press the Tab key three times. You hear “Recurrence pattern.” You also hear the name of the selected pattern.

To move between and select recurrent patterns, use the arrow keys. You can select one of the following options:

Day options.

To select the Daily option, use the arrow keys (or press Alt+D). You hear “Daily.”

Every weekday. Press the Tab key, and then, to move the focus to and select the Every weekday option and press the Down Arrow key (or press Alt+K). You hear “Every weekday.” Press Enter.

Every few days. To move the focus to the Every button, which is selected by default, press the Tab key (or press Alt+V). You hear “Every.” To move the focus to the days box, press the Tab key. You hear “Every, Editable text.” Type the number of days (for example, to specify that the meeting recurs every two days, type 2), and then press Enter.

Every few weeks. Select the Weekly option. To move the focus to the Recur every box, press the Tab key. You hear “Recur every week.” Type the number of weeks (for example, to specify that the meeting recurs every three weeks, type 3). Press Enter.

Every few months. To select the Monthly option, use the arrow keys (or press Alt+M). As the focus moves to the Monthly option, you hear “Monthly.” To move the focus to the Every months box, press the Tab key three times. You hear “Every month.” Type the number of months (for example, to specify the meeting recurs every four months, type 4). Press Enter.